Zoos have a steadfast rule to keep the animals in their care under control: Never put an innocent near an aggressive annihilator.
For this reason, the baby ducks are located far away from the cheetah compound. No matter how high the walls or how heavy the chain link, the presence of the ducklings will elevate the cheetah’s natural instinct to feed, and the big cat will always be in attack mode.
This applies to the Christian and sin. In this analogy, we play the part of the cheetah.
No! The Christian as an agressive annihilator? That's not who we are. Never. It can't be. Can it?
Look at it the Bible's way. Sin looks innocent and sweet, and it elevates our desire for the things of the world. No matter how high the walls we place between us and it, our natural instinct to “go for it” keeps us in attack mode constantly.
Our attack mode carries over to the people who live in the world around us. Christians sometimes look down on those with less money, thinner morals, lighter self-control. In other words, people who are just less good than we are. To put it simply, we’re better, and we want to trash them. Make a meal of them. Chew them up and spit them out.
Leviticus 19:18 says we can’t even think about eating the duckling:
“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
Romans 12:17-21 strips our “cheetah-ness” from us:
“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
1 John 1:9 offers us hope that we can become different than we were born to be:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
It’s human nature to be the cheetah. Even people who struggle for their place in this world strike out at those less powerful than they are, unable to resist the lure of the duckling. How else do we explain child abuse or cruelty to animals? Our aggressive nature bleeds forth, the annihilator in us bares its teeth, and we’re on the prowl once again.
Matthew 5:9 sets a higher goal:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
It’s not the duckling’s fault it’s a duckling. It is the cheetah’s fault if it eats the duckling. Let’s be better than we were born to be. Let’s let Christ help us to achieve that goal. Let’s get our eyes on the cross, and quit looking around to see if we can find any tasty ducklings wandering nearby.
Let’s focus on Jesus, and the opportunity for sin will disappear from our view.
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